I've tried so hard to like it believe me! I mean I love SF1&2 so naturally I wanted to play this as well but it's just not my type of game. I don't enjoy the grinding, turn based battles, repetition and frustrating difficulty. I know it's a very different type of game but it pales in comparison to SF1&2.

Judge others not by their actions but why they do it.Judge yourselfby your actions not why you do it.

Judge others not by their actions but why they do it.Judge yourselfby your actions not why you do it.

I like turn based battles and I love the art and some music of this game.

That said, I find it very disapointing having only one dungeon to explore.I know the dungeon develops into a few different sets in time, but it doesn't feel enough for me.I would be very happy if I found a way out of it and discovered a new selection screen with new town(s), castle and dungeons. Really.

The amount of grinding needed bugs me as well.It just feel we have to roam around and face the same enemies for such a long time to be able to gain a couple of levels and earn money to buy one single weapon.

Another weak point is you only get three characters early in the game and no one else until the end (though you find some helpers sometimes). Compared to Shining Force's 30 characters it's damn few.

So, in the end I can't rate the game nearly as high as the Shining Forces.Though I really like the atmosphere (graphic and sound, the castle, the tavern, the shops) and take it for a spin from time to time.Just don't feel like playing it for a long time. Gone to the end only once in my life.

I'm mostly not a fan of SitD's 1st-person dungeon crawling; but it's because there's no map. If you get into a random encounter while locating the Kaiser Crab, and you get disoriented (because of system limits at the time, the areas of the dungeon look similar), you're screwed as you wander and run into a random encounter far stronger than the Crab that OHKOs your party. I don't even think I got the other two main party members.

Related to the map issue... I find it easy to keep track of where I am, while sober, but I play video games to relax so I may also have a few drinks along the way. With that, it just makes things a pain in the ass.

Also, this is a game I never bother with without frameskip.

I think it was fantastic for its time, but there are issues with how it has aged.

Funkymonk wrote:I've tried so hard to like it believe me! I mean I love SF1&2 so naturally I wanted to play this as well but it's just not my type of game. I don't enjoy the grinding, turn based battles, repetition and frustrating difficulty. I know it's a very different type of game but it pales in comparison to SF1&2.

A friend of mine loves SF1, and mildly likes SF2 and is appriciate NEOand EXA. But when he played SitD he felt so Iost inside the labyrinth that he couldn't play 10% of it - I guess the battles made he feel even more lost.

He is not SFC member but I think he might understand you.

At first I found this game odd. But then I play some other first-person dungeon-crawlers RPGs. After these games I liked SitD better, for I think it is one of best games in this genre.

Trovador wrote:A friend of mine loves SF1, and mildly likes SF2 and is appriciate NEOand EXA. But when he played SitD he felt so Iost inside the labyrinth that he couldn't play 10% of it - I guess the battles made he feel even more lost.

He is not SFC member but I think he might understand you.

At first I found this game odd. But then I play some other first-person dungeon-crawlers RPGs. After these games I liked SitD better, for I think it is one of best games in this genre.

It might be one of the best of its genre but that genre just feels so dated to me. Even when I first played it back in the early 90s it felt dated, much more so then SF1 & 2 which actually felt like a breath of fresh air at the time.

Judge others not by their actions but why they do it.Judge yourselfby your actions not why you do it.

Judge others not by their actions but why they do it.Judge yourselfby your actions not why you do it.

The dungeon crawler genre is probably quite dated, yes, so having played it during childhood helps a bit, I'd say. I find it hard to find the patience to get through retro rpg's overall nowadays. One thing that might help though (if you truly want to get through the game) is to play with a walkthrough. I know that might be like swearing in church for some people but for this game specifically it gives you access to maps to compensate for the lack of that mechanic in this game compared to, say, StHA.

With this game, I've used the rpgclassics one a couple times. Comprehensive maps as well as a few useful tips on proper levels for different parts of the game and stuff. I enjoy the game, although the critique is certainly valid.

Of course you're going to get disoriented without a map. Games like this expect players to draw their own maps. Back in the day, it was the norm for players take notes while playing RPGs and similar games. If you're blindly roaming the dungeons with nothing to guide you other than your sense of direction, you're doing it wrong.

And yes, the game is pretty repetitive (it's a dungeon crawler after all) and has lots of grinding. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but dedicated Shining fans.

Redd wrote:Of course you're going to get disoriented without a map. Games like this expect players to draw their own maps. Back in the day, it was the norm for players take notes while playing RPGs and similar games. If you're blindly roaming the dungeons with nothing to guide you other than your sense of direction, you're doing it wrong.

And yes, the game is pretty repetitive (it's a dungeon crawler after all) and has lots of grinding. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but dedicated Shining fans.

In comparison it's kind of funny to think how much modern games hold your hand. I was playing Uncharted 4 recently and it literally has a flashing arrow on the screen telling you what to do and where to go every few seconds, even when it's blindingly obvious. I could imagine some younger gamers would have an aneurism playing something like SITD where you really have to work things out for your self. Gamers these days don't know they're born!

Judge others not by their actions but why they do it.Judge yourselfby your actions not why you do it.

Judge others not by their actions but why they do it.Judge yourselfby your actions not why you do it.